It has been 25 years since Sarah Vaughan passed away, but her
legacy continues to be honored not only with many posthumous recordings
but now on a commemorative Forever stamp. On August 20, the United
States Postal Service announced, via the philatelic website http://Linns.com" rel="nofollow - Linns ,
that the Grammy-winning jazz singer will be the latest addition to the
agency's Music Icons series for next year. Previous subjects in the
series include Lydia Mendoza, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix,
Janis Joplin and, most recently, Elvis Presley.
The new stamp's artwork is an oil painting by artist Bart Forbes of
the singer, inspired by a photograph by Hugo Bell from circa 1955. The
back cover of the sheet of 16 stamps is a reprise of the stamp artwork
and features a list of Vaughan's popular recordings—among those
mentioned are “Body and Soul,” “Misty,” “I've Got a Crush on You,”
“Autumn in New York” and “It's Magic.”
A brief biographical description of Vaughan on the stamp sheet reads:
“Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) was one of America's greatest singers,
successful in both jazz and pop. Swooping from high to low and back
again, her voice ranged over several octaves. Her talent for
improvisation and skillful phrasing created a style all her own, which
continues to influence some of today's best singers and win her new
generations of fans.”
The date and location of the stamp's first day of issue have not yet been announced.
Vaughan is the latest jazz artist to be featured on a U.S.
commemorative stamp, joining Louis Armstrong Miles Davis, John Coltrane,
Ella Fitzgerald, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Count
Basie, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman and others. In 2011, the Postal
Service issued a stamp honoring the genre of jazz itself.